Tag Archives: grass

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Fall Color, Parker Bench and Parker Canyon

October 10, 2012 G Dan Mitchell 1 Comment

Fall color from aspens, brush, and lowland trees on Parker Bench below Parker Canyon, eastern Sierra Nevada.

Parker Bench is an area above the northern portion of the June Lakes Loop, lying below Parker Lake and the canyon topping out at Parker Pass. The area is visible from highway 395, though driving up closer reveals a lot more details. The canyon itself appears to be very rugged, and I’m not even certain that a trail climbs it to the pass. I do know that the main route over the pass does not descend the canyon, instead turning south and climbing higher after it crosses the pass to exit Yosemite National Park. I’ve hiked to the pass quite a few times, and explored the country on the Yosemite side of the pass extensively.

This can be a good area to view almost the full transition of aspen color as it moves gradually downward from the highest elevations and out into Owens Valley and similar sage brush country areas. In this photograph extensive groves of aspens in full seasonal color are visible on the slopes to the right of the creek draining the canyon, and in a location that is not far from Parker Lake. When this photograph was made in mid-October of 2011, the color had worked its way down below the forest and out into the relatively low areas along the creeks descending from the higher peaks. Right in front of the camera there are bright colors from brush and a few aspens. Also note the unusually heavy snow up near the pass. October 2011 was an unusual month in that it started with a series of three relatively strong winter-type storms sweeping across the Sierra, closing a number of passes and dropping a foot or more of snow in places.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Aspen Trees, Shoreline of North Lake

October 5, 2012 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Autumn aspen trees line the shoreline of North Lake in morning light.

I had exactly one day to photograph eastern Sierra aspen color this week – and that may be my only shot at it this fall, with the possible exception of something closer to the middle of the month. I was in the Bishop Creek area for this single day, starting very early in the morning in the area generally around North Lake and then shooting along South Lake road into the early evening. This photograph was made at North Lake. Since I’ve photographed there many times, I rarely head straight for the best known spots, but instead poke around a bit and try to find somewhat different angles on things and/or photograph small details instead of the grand scene. This photograph is looking back across the lake toward the larger Bishop Creek Canyon in the distance, and light beams slant down across the low ridge near the end of the lake.

A quick report for those wondering how the color is doing and when to go. The colors are doing very well. If you are hoping to shoot some of the higher elevations on the east side of the Sierra, I recommend not waiting very long this year. The North, South, and Sabrina Lakes areas of Bishop Creek were in spectacular form when I was there around the middle of the week. I was not expecting much, since some of the reports I had read were less than encouraging. But in many places the colors were as good or almost as good as I have ever seen them, and the colorful trees were extending down to lower elevations that I would expect for this very early October date. For example, the colors at Cardinal Meadow were stunning. Nothing was really yet past its prime, but the higher areas are likely to reach that stage very soon, I would think.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Owens Valley, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Dawn Light, Alkali Lake and the Minarets

October 1, 2012 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Pink dawn light illuminates the surface of an Alkali Lake and the Minarets, and Mounts Ritter and Banner

Although it has been almost a year since I made this photograph, I recall the morning very well. I had stayed at a cheap motel in Mammoth Lakes the night before, and when I got up well before dawn I had no specific shooting plan other than to head in the general direction of places where I would find aspens, most likely somewhat south of Mammoth. I drove down to highway 395 from Mammoth and spotted the steam from the hot springs along with some fog in Long Valley. Figuring that I wasn’t certain where I would find the aspen color I was looking for but that I was certain that interesting stuff was happening out in the valley, I changed plans and headed there instead.

I drove to small lake where I have photographed a number of times in the past, pulled off the road, grabbed my gear, and headed out to the bank of the lake opposite the still relatively dark Sierra crest. This was an unusual early October, and three relatively large winter-type storms had passed through during the previous week, dropping substantial early season snow all along the upper reaches of the Sierra. As a consequence, at a time of year when it usually looks more like summer, the range had taken on a very wintry appearance. As the first pre-dawn light came to the sky, it turned the slightly hazy atmosphere a beautiful shade of pink and this light was reflected in the surface of the small lake.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Meadow’s Edge, Lembert Dome, and Mount Dana

September 26, 2012 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Trees grow at the edges of Tuolumne Meadows as Lembert Dome and Mount Dana rise beyond, Yosemite National Park.

This photograph includes a bunch of Tuolumne Meadows icons familiar to most anyone who has spent time there – and I’ve spent a lot of time in and around this area over the years! The first obvious icon is the meadow itself, here near the “lower” section before it turns away from the highway and the Tuolumne River heads off towards Glen Aulin and eventually to the abomination of Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. The two prominences rising beyond the meadow are both icon. The closer of the two is Lembert Dome, well known to almost all visitors, especially the many who have hiked to its summit to experience the panoramic view of the area. Beyond Lembert Dome is Mount Dana, the second-highest peak in Yosemite. It is located on the eastern boundary of the park right above the entrance at Tioga Pass. For me, there are other icons in this scene as well, though they may be more personal. The lodgepole pine trees silhouetted along the right edge of the frame are found all over the region. The backlit haze, formed as the morning sun just clears the Sierra crest, is a condition that I strongly identify with Tuolumne – and it is a frequent photographic subject.

This simple shot posed some real technical challenges. Perhaps most obviously, the scene includes an extremely large dynamic range between the very bright areas of sunlit haze along the right shoulder of Mount Dana and the dark silhouettes of the backlit trees. In some situations I might make two exposures and blend them in post, but that does not work so well when thing tree trunks and branches stand against the sky. This is a single exposure that just barely contained the brightest tones, and from which I was able to recover just enough detail in the shadows. The composition might seem a bit odd to some, with the dark mass of the silhouetted trees very close to the right edge of the frame. The idea was to create a sense that the trees, or at least an observer among the trees, is looking out from them into the light-filled open space of the meadow.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: grass

Aspen Trees, Shoreline of North Lake

Meadow’s Edge, Lembert Dome, and Mount Dana

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.